Dallas County DA John Creuzot Actively Pursuing Alleged Police Wrongdoing During Summer 2020 Protests

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Dallas County DA John Creuzot said on Jan 5 that his office is continuing to investigate alleged criminal wrongdoing by police officers during the Summer 2020 protests.

The DA's Office is now asking the public for help identifying two potential victims of police violence as well as the identities of officers who fired "less lethal" rounds at protestors.

"Unfortunately, we don't know the names of individuals who appear to be injured. To present the best case possible, the DA'S Office needs to know the identity of these individuals, and we need the public's help," Dallas County Criminal DA John Creuzot said.

"We have never stopped working on these cases, and we will not stop working on them until they are charged or the statute of limitations runs out on May 30, 2022."

The Office is focusing on three specific incidences of police violence that occurred on May 30, 2020 between 5:30 p.m. and 5:42 p.m.

First, at 5:30 p.m. at 416 S Ervay Street, an unknown individual was hit in the rear by "less-lethal" ammunition.

Second, at 5:38 p.m. at 400 S Ervay Street, Brandon Saenz was shot in the face with "less-lethal" ammunition, which resulted in the loss of an eye.

Finally, at 5:42 p.m. on 300 S Ervay Street, an unknown individual was hit in the groin by "less-lethal" ammunition.

The DA's Office said that the officer or officers violated Dallas Police Department policies regarding "less-lethal" rounds.

According to the protocols in effect at the time, the officer should have "collected the projectile fired if feasible, gotten medical help for the person hit, notified a supervisor on the scene that they discharged their weapon, and complete a BlueTeam report detailing the incident by the end of their shift. "

None of these steps were taken, according to the DA's Office.

Bryan Mitchell with the DA's Public Integrity Unit said, "We can't get justice for Brandon through the criminal justice system because we don't know who shot him, and we should know that. If policies and procedures were followed, we should know."

"From everything we have, we believe this activity is illegal and unjustified," DA Creuzot said.  "We need names, we need a person."

To come forward with any additional information, video evidence, or identifiers, please contact the DA's Office at: protestreport@dallascounty.org or call 214-653-3714.